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Romans
did get lead poisoning, but it wasn't so much from the lead pipes. The
water they ran was so hard that the pipes were quickly lined with
calcium deposits that kept the lead from leaching as much, and the
alkalinity helped prevent leaching of lead. But they used lead in
cookware, and added "lead sugar" to their wine to preserve it (and
because it apparently tastes nice). But the downfall of the Western
Empire was tied to a lot of factors, including an endless series of
crises (natural disasters, plagues, invasions, then more disasters, more
plagues, more invasions) with a leadership that wasn't up to managing
them. But Rome didn't fall. Western Rome fell, but Rome had moved it's
capital to Constantinople and stood until the 1400s. In the West we
call the Roman empire Byzantium, but they referred to themselves as
Romans, and carried the imperial linage tracing back to Augustus.

chgoliz

In
Chicago, solid lead piping was legally required into the mid-1960's to
connect the main water lines to each individual house/building. The
only way to take it out now is to dig up the basement floor and
everything outside to the street: trees, flowers, grass, concrete,
paving stones, whatever. And of course you don't have water until it's
completed. Needless to say, this is not the option people go for when
they buy an existing place.
Home owners who know about this and can afford it will either put in a
whole house filter, a kitchen sink filter, or use some sort of bottled
water to avoid drinking city water straight from the tap. Chicago's
murder rate is rising while everyone else's is dropping. Guess I found
another potential correlation!

IanM_66

Very
interesting stuff, but it's a little odd to me how the proponents of
these theories discuss the crime boom and subsequent drop (which,
actually, was almost exclusive to the big cities) as though it's some
big unexplained mystery, when it isn't, at all. Sociologists,
demographers, economists, and crime experts are generally in pretty
clear agreement that white flight and the movement of middle class
families to the suburbs, racial isolation, economic stagnation and lack
of opportunity in cities, and the drug explosion all led to big cities
becoming poverty-stricken, dangerous places.
In other words, this is not something that social experts are sitting
around scratching their heads about, waiting for scientists to come up
with a chemical explanation for it all. Sure, it's complex, and issues
like lead poisoning and abortion rates could be a part of the mix as
well, but it just isn't this unsolved mystery that has been waiting for a
'Eureka' moment to crack the case, which is the way it's described
every time someone comes along with a new theory.

As the Pentagon's former top lawyer urges that the war be viewed as finite, the US moves in the opposite direction

The polices adopted by the Obama administration just over the last couple of years leave no doubt that they are accelerating, not winding down, the war apparatus that has been relentlessly strengthened over the last decade. In the name of the War on Terror, the current president hasdiluteddecades-old Miranda warnings;codifieda new scheme of indefinite detention on US soil;plottedto relocate Guantanamo to Illinois; increasedsecrecy,repressionandrelease-restrictionsat the camp;minteda new theory of presidential assassination powers even for US citizens;renewedthe Bush/Cheney warrantless eavesdropping framework for another five years,as well asthe Patriot Act, without a single reform; and justsigned into lawall new restrictions on the release of indefinitely held detainees.

Does that sound to you like a government anticipating the end of the War on Terror any time soon? Or does it sound like one working feverishly to make their terrorism-justified powers of detention, surveillance, killing and secrecy permanent? About all of this, the ACLU's Executive Director, Anthony Romero,provided the answer on Thursday: "President Obama has utterly failed the first test of his second term, even before inauguration day. His signature means indefinite detention without charge or trial, as well as the illegal military commissions, will be extended."

The War on Terror at least notes that a psychological ploy is at the root of policy. The duration of the Long War of geopolitics in subjugating the world may well extend past apparent success : such is the nature of colonialism. One cannot fund weapons production past the capacity of the rest of the planet combined without indulging in its use - something that led scientists to reveal atomic secrets to the U.S.S.R and set up the possibility of resistance to nuclear blackmail. Yet the primary goals of policy seem a control of energy markets and deprivation of peoples of essentials of life - the tactics of slavers.

Ex-reporters are running British politics. Do they have the right skill-set to save the economy?

Even though Al Jazeera is considered "controversial", competitors "fear its reputation for news excellence".

As the Obama administration moves towards further loosening media rules, will any champions of press freedom emerge to speak out against this dangerous precedent in contemporary pre-emptive censorship, limiting what the American public can and can't see?

( Can you figure out how one loosens media rules while increasing censorship ? )

In 2007, Chuck Hagel went totally crazy and told the truth about our invasion of Iraq. Here's what he said:

"People say we're not fighting for oil. Of course we are. They talk
about America's national interest. What the hell do you think they're
talking about? We're not there for figs."

.... who knows what he'll bust out with next! He might mention that the sky
is blue, or two plus two equals four…or even that we should change the
name of the Department of Defense back to what it was before World War
II – the Department of War.

DRSTRANGELOVE

Posted January 5th, 2013 10:01 AM

When, did the truth ever matter in America lately?

I remember
at least thirty-five years of gradually increasing indoctrination, so
those on the top in "poli-ticks" and industry don't have to change and
in any ways accommodate its people. Why ever change the perfect robbery
and crime, when nobody is noticing?

Get used to it, you clearly have been made a zombie within one big "Umbrella Corporation".

And Senator Max Cleland told us the truth about 9/11, yet too few listened:

Senator Max Cleland
– Former member of the 9/11 Commission, resigned in December 2003:
"I,
as a member of the [9/11] Commission, cannot look any American in the
eye... It is a national scandal... this White House wants to cover
[9/11] up."

LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS,
NOT MORE NUKES, COAL AND FRACKING...

AND HELP PREVENT "INTERIM" RADWASTE STORAGE

January 4, 2013

Dear Friends,

It's a new year, a new Congress has been sworn in, and the American Clean Energy Agenda is moving into action quickly.

Now 117 groups strong (including NIRS), representing more than 2
million people, the American Clean Energy Agenda (ACEA) is holding its
first national grassroots lobby week next week to begin educating
Congressmembers--especially those newly elected--on the need to support
genuinely clean renewables and energy efficiency and reject dirty energy
sources like nuclear power, coal and natural gas fracking.

We also need to clearly explain to Congress that "consolidated
interim storage" of radioactive waste--and the accompanying mass
transport of high-level waste on our roads and rails--is simply
unacceptable.

The nuclear and fossil fuel industries are already lobbying hard
on their own behalf. It's vital that we counter them and that
Congressmembers hear directly from you.

Congress has now adjourned until January 14; until then, most
members and their staffs will be back in their home districts and
available to meet with concerned citizens--that means you!

Some basic talking points prepared by ACEA are below.
Think of this as an introductory session, especially if you've never met
with your Member (or, more likely, a staff member) before. There isn't
yet any specific legislation to discuss, so this is a chance to begin
building a relationship and letting your concerns and expertise be known
and clear. Building a relationship, even if you can't reach full (or
any) agreement, will be very helpful down the road when specific
legislation does arise.

Try to tailor your concerns to your audience. It may be useful
to explain to tea partiers for example--since most Members don't realize
it--that the Nuclear Production Tax Credit could cost taxpayers
about $20 Billion over the next decade and should be repealed. Whether
the Member supports nuclear power in theory or not, he/she may well
agree that a wealthy industry like nuclear power shouldn't get that kind
of tax break.

And Members who haven't thought much about the issue (most of them) probably don't understand that "consolidated interim storage" of high-level radioactive waste,
which is a major nuclear industry goal this year, means that
potentially thousands of waste casks would traverse hundreds of
Congressional districts to a temporary site, putting millions of
Americans at risk in the event of a traffic or rail accident--or even a
lengthy traffic jam. When this idea came up in the 1990s, we dubbed it
"Mobile Chernobyl" and President Clinton vetoed such legislation.It was a
bad idea then, and it's a worse idea now.

"Mobile Chernobyl" still applies, and so does "Fukushima
Freeways." The U.S. must not start shipping lethal radioactive waste
across the country to a temporary site solely so the nuclear industry
can generate more waste with no permanent solution.

Call your Members and ask for a meeting with them, or at least a
ranking staff person, to talk about energy issues and the next
Congress. This is especially important if you represent a grassroots
organization. Your Members must hear from you. Be polite, but
persistent.

If you can't get a meeting, then on Thursday, January 10--the
main grassroots lobby day--call your Member's office and ask to speak to
the staff person in charge of energy issues. And then make your case.

Please feel free to contact NIRS if we can provide any assistance.

And please send us an e-mail (nirsnet@nirs.org)
if you do meet with and/or call a Member and especially any response
you receive from Members and staff. This will be very helpful as we
prepare to address these issues in the coming Congress.

This video keeps getting removed from and moved around YouTube... So, I'm placing it here:

"Tax the rich: An animated fairy tale", is narrated by Ed Asner, with
animation by Mike Konopacki. Written and directed by Fred Glass for the
California Federation of Teachers. An 8 minute video about how we
arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening
economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land
after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell
the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure.
This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. For more info,
www.cft.org.

I wanted to give you guys the list of bills that are upsetting the First Nations: Background:
The Harper Government’s Termination Plan, “Aside from the unilateral
legislation being imposed, or the funding cuts and caps to First
Nation’s and their political organizations, the September 4, 2012,
announcement of a ‘results based’ approach to Modern Treaties and
Self-Government negotiations amounts to a ‘take it or leave it’
declaration on the part of the Harper government to the negotiating
First Nations.”

These three new policy measures are on top of
the following unilateral federal legislation the Harper government is
imposing over First Nations: Bill C-27: First Nations Financial Transparency Act

Pyramids found underwater 10,000 years old.

Pyramids under the waters near Cuba were discovered by two scientists Paul Weinzweig and Pauline Zalitzki. They found the ruins of ancient buildings about a mile below the sea

Paulina found elsewhere in Cuba ancient descriptions and symbols that
were identical to those on the waterfront structures below.

the two scientists used submarines to locate and explore these pyramid structures They found a written language engraved on the stones.

The U.S. government discovered the site during the Cuban missile crisis
in the sixties, Nuclear submarines cruising in the Gulf (in deep sea)
met pyramid structures. They immediately took control in order so that
it would not come into Soviet hands. Or so the story goes ...

A
whistleblower from the army, that used to serve in Montego Bay told
they are still working on the site and recovering objects and
instruments

This area in Cuba has not been above water for at least 10,000 years ...

About seven years ago the news went around the world and all over the
net. National Geographic published an article on their web site and had
plans to cover the whole story and follow up with more investigations.
In 2005 they walked out of the deal. Some say it had to do with Cuba/USA
relationship and other believe it goes "DEEPER" than that. Paulina says
she needs $2,000,000.00 to go back and drill through the pyramids and
see what is inside. She wants to recover artifacts. She has now moved
over to other projects near Mexico because she needs to make a living. -------------------------

Despite some degree of publicity, these outrageous findings have still
not been publicized for the outside world. On this second part you will
get to see Zelitskys pyramid, from submersible view, compared with Bent
Pyramid of Dashur. You will also see the link to see two short videos of
to monoliths or pyramids.

Taiwan’s
New Eco-Skin Solar Building With PV Glass: The surface of the
'mountains' is a high-tech, eco-friendly pleated skin system. The
smocking-like envelope provides air flow
to the building while keeping energy consumption at a minimum by
utilizing solar energy. The open courtyards that connect the individual
'mountains' are integrated into a natural sequence of outdoor spaces.

The Taiwanese center’s ‘blinds’ will naturally ventilate the structure,
generating energy from solar power. The folded solar eco-skin of the
building serves two purposes – first, the envelopes provide natural air
flow to the interior to minimize air conditioning. Second, the pleatings
also utilize a “double photovoltaic glass,” which will help reduce
energy consumption. One side of the pleat is a transparent material that
lets light into the interior, providing plentiful natural d READ MORE: http://www.solaripedia.com/13/108/977/taichung_convention_center_aerial_(taiwan).html

The 'war on terror' - by design - can never endDoes that sound to you like a government anticipating the end of the
War on Terror any time soon? Or does it sound like one working
feverishly to make their terrorism-justified powers of detention,
surveillance, killing and secrecy permanent?There's a good
reason US officials are assuming the "War on Terror" will persist
indefinitely: namely, their actions ensure that this occurs. The New
York Times' Matthew Rosenberg this morning examines what the US
government seems to regard as the strange phenomenon of Afghan soldiers
attacking US troops with increasing frequency, and in doing so,
discovers a shocking reality: people end up disliking those who occupy
and bomb their country. In
other words, more than a decade of occupying and brutalizing that
country has turned large swaths of the population into the "Taliban", to
the extent that the "Taliban" means: Afghans willing to use violence to
force the US and its allies out of their country. As always, the US -
through the very policies of aggression and militarism justified in the
name of terrorism - is creating the very "terrorists" those polices are
supposedly designed to combat. It's a pure and perfect system of
self-perpetuation.

Exactly the same thing is happening in
Yemen, where nothing is more effective at driving Yemenis into the arms
of al-Qaida than the rapidly escalated drone attacks under Obama. This
morning, the Times reported that US air strikes in Yemen are carried out
in close cooperation with the air force of Saudi Arabia, which will
only exacerbate that problem. Indeed, virtually every person accused of
plotting to target the US with terrorist attacks in last several years
has expressly cited increasing US violence, aggression and militarism in
the Muslim world as the cause.

There's no question that this
"war" will continue indefinitely. There is no question that US actions
are the cause of that, the gasoline that fuels the fire. The only
question - and it's becoming less of a question for me all the time - is
whether this endless war is the intended result of US actions or just
an unwanted miscalculation.

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